Constable and Brighton

A new exhibition curated by artist Peter Harrap at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery 8th April 2017 to the 8th October 2017 explores a John Constable’s time in Brighton between 1824 to 1828 through his paintings and an accompanying Scala book of the exhibition, available here

“…Brings together for the first time a glittering collection of the works Constable made in the town…” Maev Kennedy, The Guardian, read the full review here

“…A display that reveals as much about Constable’s life as his work.” Edwin Gilson, The Argus, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ read the full review here

“A jaw-dropping collection of work by one of the godfathers of English painting… a fascinating exhibition… awe-inspiring.” Robin Gibson, from BBC SE News.

“…The paintings he created here [Brighton] have given us a real insight into the way he worked.” Adebanji Alade, The One Show, BBC 1. You can see the feature from The One Show here

Selected as one of the top five must-see exhibitions by Alistair Sooke, art critic for The Telegraph, for The Art Fund; From Giacometti to Constable. “…If you can get to Brighton Museum and Art Gallery you’re in for a treat because there is a new exhibition there devoted to the works that John Constable created down in the fashionable resort in the south coast…The exhibition traces his steps as he painted local sights…” see it here

An Eight Page feature in Article Magazine written by artist and curator Peter Harrap, available to purchase here

Rainstorm Over the Sea, John Constable, courtesy of Royal Academy of Arts

The exhibition is accompanied by a Scala Arts book ‘Constable and Brighton; Something out of Nothing’ edited by Shân Lancaster, featuring artist and curator Peter Harrap, Anne Lyles, Ian Warrell, Dr Sue Berry, and Mark Sheerin. Please find the Scala book on the exhibition here

By strange serendipity, after renovating their Brighton studio, Harrap and Kissell found out from a neighbour and freelance journalist, Shan Lancaster, that the deeds of their studio contained an unusual story. Between 1824 and 1828 John Constable and his family had lodged in the house that is now Harrap and Kissell’s family home and painting studio. Constable had a painting room in the house, what was then known as 9 Mrs Sober’s Gardens. This story inspired Harrap to delve into Constable’s short history in Brighton, and will surmount this year with the exhibition of Constable’s works from the period and the publication of a Scala book on the subject.

Constable’s wife Maria suffered from Tuberculosis, and on medical advice the couple and their children took lodgings in Brighton for extended periods. Despite this, after four years, Maria sadly died at the age of 41.

Working between Brighton and London, Constable produced around 150 works in the town. Some were commissions, created in his ‘painting room’ and usually destined for the French market, but his long, systematic walks in and around Brighton also prompted many other works.

Constable and Brighton will bring together over 60 of the artist’s sketches, drawings and paintings from his period in Brighton for the first time, in the place where they were created. Focusing on his family life and walks, it will explore the impact and influence of the work he made here; as well as the working practices he developed and the locations and people who inspired him.

Harrap was able to establish the location of 9 Mrs Sober’s Gardens with Shân Lancaster. This then enabled him to discover a unique pattern of Constable’s own walking and painting sequences, which demonstrated a series of paintings he produced as he explored three walks across Brighton. Highlights will include:

Chain Pier, Brighton (1826–7, Tate), a fine oil painting featuring the early Brighton landmark which was swept away in 1896, in its first exhibition in the city for 20 years.

Rainstorm over the Sea (c. 1824-28, Royal Academy of Arts) as seen above.

The gold medal Constable won for his celebrated painting The Hay Wain, when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1824 (having been shown at the Royal Academy in 1821).

Study of the Trunk of an Elm (c1824 V&A) A favourite painting of Lucian Freud, it is an unexpected Brighton discovery. Constable has no Hampstead address 1824, and following extensive research conducted by the V&A it seems highly likely now that this is a painting made by Constable around Preston Manor, north of 9 Mrs Sober’s Gardens.

Constable in Brighton will be curated by Harrap in consultation with renowned Constable expert Anne Lyles (formerly of Tate) and with support from researcher Shan Lancaster. Harrap’s interest in Constable burgeoned when he discovered he was living in the house where Constable lodged.

He said: “I’ve long been interested in Constable, but discovering that he was based in the house where I now live has led me to specialise in researching his life and work. He wasn’t a huge fan of busy Brighton, referring to it as ‘Piccadilly by the sea’, but he enjoyed local walks and his time here was very productive. His images of the coast, the South Downs and the area’s working life pioneered the practice of painting from life in the open air, later adopted by French artists.”

Central to the exhibition will be Constable’s view that he expressed in a letter written from Brighton in 1824, that: “It is the business of a painter not to contend with nature and put this scene (…) on a canvas of a few inches, but to make something out of nothing, in attempting which he must almost of necessity become poetical.”

Proof After Freud After Constable After Claude, Peter Harrap, Etching on Paper

Body in the Trunk, Peter Harrap, Oil on Paper

Peter Harrap as the artist curator of the exhibition has made two responses to Constable’s Study of the Trunk of an Elm seen above. They show an equivalence between the arborglyphs (tree graffiti) and the scars on the body of Harrap’s friend, a surviver of a car accident.

You can check out a collection of Constable’s walks and find information on the exhibition on Facebook here